It's a lousy week. And I don't just mean for me. You guys will have
to suffer through it as well. Pretty much nothing coming to you save
for a must have for Tarantino fans and a rental or two. Oh well.
Maybe we'll have something for you next week.

In the meantime, take a gander at these DVDs released on April 13,
2004...

Casa
de los Babys

From independent film god John Sayles comes this microcosmic
look at a group of six women waiting in an expensive Central
American hotel to adopt children. Every social class and
attitude is represented by a cast including: Susan Lynch, Daryl
Hannah, Lili Taylor, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Marcia Gay Harden and
Mary Steenburgen. Looking at the moral and political quagmire
foreign adoptions can be, Sayles doesn't pick any sides, even
when it's revealed that the hotel (run by Rita Moreno) has a
little racket going. It's as if he lifts a rock and we peer down
underneath it and does a slight, "see?" with his hand.
It's a good Sayles film, maybe not his best, but definitely
worth your time.

This MGM DVD features a great anamorphic transfer and sound in
Dolby Digital 2.0. Extras include a very informative and easy to
listen to commentary by Sayles and some making-of stuff shown on
IFC.

Eating
Raoul

The blackest of the black comedies finally finds its way to
DVD. A man (director/writer Paul Bartel) and his wife (Mary
Woronov) hate the swinging lifestyle. Yet everywhere they turn
it's thrown in their face. Eating
Raoul follows these two after they find a solution to
their problem, only to meet up with a man who wants in. This DVD
looks and sounds as good as can be expected. The source is
showing its age, but looks fine in a new anamorphic print. Sound
is a standard, but serviceable DD 2.0. No extras save for some
non-thematic trailers. Pity, but still, it's a good flick to
check out if you haven't already.

Fan of space, rejoice: Fox has released another wave of their
remastered From the NASA Archives
line. These two volumes, one dedicated to Apollo 15 and the
other a comprehensive look at the Saturn project, take a
all-encompassing look at the space program using all available
source materials including exclusive archival footage, vocal
recordings from Control and interviews. If you love space as
much as us, you'll have to have these discs in your library.

Kill
Bill, Volume 1

Getting ready for Volume 2
this week? Well, be sure to check out the first adventure of The
Bride with Volume 1. Read
Bill and my
thoughts
here.

Timeline

Trebuchet! Trebuchet! What happens when a group of modern day
scientists go back in time? Find out when you read Adam Jahnke's
review
here.

Tokyo
Godfathers

Three homeless people, each with complicated pasts, find a baby
on Christmas Eve. Knowing they can't raise a child on the
streets, these three unlikely heroes band together to find the
baby's parents. But what will they do when they find out the
child is very special and that in order to save her, they will
have to save themselves? Find out with this incredible anime
from the groundbreaking director of Perfect
Blue and Millennium
Actress. Sent to us on DVD by Columbia TriStar, the
anamorphic transfer serves the film might fine. Sound is in DD
5.1 in the original Japanese, which sound just as good. Extras
include a Japanese making-of piece with interviews and
behind-the-scenes material that sheds little light on the
production but brings us a bit closer to the voice cast and
director. This is an animation worth all of your time, do check
it out.